1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing device, such as a multifunction copying machine, which divides image data into objects and edits metadata of the divided objects, and to an image processing method, program and storage medium.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, offices have rapidly become paperless in the midst of environment problems. A conventional technique for realizing a paperless office management system or image communication system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-358857. The management system reads paper documents accumulated in binders and the like with a scanner. Then the document management system converts the images read into Portable Document Format (hereinafter referred to as “PDF”), for example, and manages the documents by storing them in an image storage device. The image communication system transmits the data passing through the PDF conversion or the like to a remote location.
To make effective use of the documents stored as computerized information, a technique for retrieving required information from a large amount of stored information is important. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-025113 (1999) proposes a method of retrieving an image from documents in which character strings and images such as figures, tables and photographs are mixed. The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-025113 (1999) extracts the images and character strings describing the images from the documents, associates the extracted images with the extracted character strings and stores them. Then, at retrieval, it can search character strings having been stored according to any given search word designated by the user, and output images associated with the corresponding character string.
In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-055748 proposes a method of facilitating the process of providing comment information to an image. The method displays an image (such as a portrait) and a plurality of icons each of which is associated with metadata (metadata of a person's name, for example), drags and drops the icon on the image, and adds the metadata associated with the icon to the image as a comment.
However, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-025113 (1999), there are some cases where no appropriate metadata is added in the method of adding the character string in the document to the image as metadata for retrieval. In addition, even if the appropriate metadata is added, there are some cases where editing of the metadata, such as addition and elimination, is required.
In such a case, by viewing a metadata editing screen on which the image and metadata are displayed, a user usually edits them into any desired metadata by keyboard input. However, if the metadata to be edited is large, there is a problem of increasing the workload of the user.
In addition, a method of dragging and dropping an icon onto an image to add the metadata associated with the icon to the image as a comment, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-055748, has a problem of restricting the operation of the user because the manner of adding the comment is always one way and fixed.
More specifically, since the method has only a method of dragging and dropping the icon onto the image, it cannot drag and drop the image onto the icon to add a comment.
As another problem, it is also impossible to add a comment by dragging and dropping a text image onto a photographic image, a photographic image onto a text image or a text image onto a text image. Furthermore, the method cannot change the manner of adding the comment when dragging and dropping a photographic image onto a photographic image, a text image onto a photographic image, a photographic image onto a text image or a text image onto a text image. As a result, there is a problem in which it is difficult for the user to intuitively understand the manner in which the comment is added.